What it's like to ride a Cybercab in Austin
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A Tesla Cybercab, stopped in a Whatburger parking lot. Sandy's, the intended destination, is on the other side of a fence. Photo: Asher Price/Axios
I hopped into the future on Tuesday, taking one of Tesla's new Cybercabs from my home near the University of Texas campus to Sandy's, an old-fashioned hamburger spot across town.
Why it matters: With two companies — Waymo and Tesla — now operating driverless cabs in Austin, the city feels very much like a competitive playing field for self-driving vehicles.
- Other autonomous vehicle companies in testing or deployment phases in Austin include Avride, Volkswagen AMDT, Zoox and Motional.
How it works: With a user-friendly Robotaxi app you order a Tesla — either the two-door, two-seat gold Cybercab model or a four-door self-driving Model Y Tesla.
- For my trip, the cost was about the same for either vehicle — $12 each way for the roughly 4-mile trip.
The passenger experience: The Cybercab felt sleek and spartan.
- Unlike a Waymo, it has no side-view mirrors and no chunky spinning lidar sensors.
- Inside, it was barren, except for a screen that allowed you to hook up your phone to use Netflix, Hulu, Apple Music or a dozen or so other apps — or play one of a handful of video games. There was also a function for adjusting the seat.
- I'm nearly 6-f00t-3 and the car was plenty big for me. The trunk had enough space to hold at least a couple of hefty suitcases and backpacks.
What happened: The pickups for my round trip were quick — I had to wait five minutes or less each way — and the ride itself easy.
- On the ride back, the driverless self-driving Model Y I selected was even what I'd call courteous — leaving space ahead of it at a stoplight, so cars headed the opposite way could turn across traffic and into a parking lot.
Yes, but: The Cybercab dropped me off at an adjacent business (a Whataburger) with its own parking lot.
- I called customer support to ask whether it could take me to the next parking lot over. (It was no problem for me to walk the 100 or so feet, but it might be a challenge for someone with a disability.)
- "That area is blocked off," the customer service person told me. When I asked about that, he said, "I'm not at liberty to discuss that." (Sandy's is well within the Tesla Cybercab's service area, according to the app's map, and nothing was blocking the parking lot.)
- When I ordered a pickup, the same thing happened — the car waited for me at the Whataburger.
Zoom out: A Cybercab rider posted recently that a trip from 99 Ranch Market to the Domain, roughly 6 miles away, took 70 minutes after the driverless taxi took a "massive south detour through East Austin."
- Tesla did not immediately reply to an Axios email asking about the drop-off at Whataburger and the detour through East Austin.
- Waymo has faced its own challenges in Austin and elsewhere, including vehicles blocking emergency first responders.
🍔 The bottom line: Maybe Elon likes Whataburger more than Sandy's?